Heat transfer processes in micro- and nanoscale devices have become more and more important during the last decades. Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) is an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based method for analyzing local thermal conductivities of layers with thicknesses in the range of several nm to µm. In this work, we investigate ultrathin films of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), copper iodide in zincblende structure (γ-CuI) and some test sample structures fabricated of silicon (Si) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) using SThM. Specifically, we analyze and discuss the influence of the sample topography, the touching angle between probe tip and sample, and the probe tip temperature on the acquired results. In essence, our findings indicate that SThM measurements include artefacts that are not associated with the thermal properties of the film under investigation. We discuss possible ways of influence, as well as the magnitudes involved. Furthermore, we suggest necessary measuring conditions that make qualitative SThM measurements of ultrathin films of h-BN with thicknesses at or below 23 nm possible.

The intermittent He/D ion irradiations of polycrystalline W have been performed at the ion energy of 50 eV by changing the time of the single irradiations and the irradiation temperature. All irradiated W specimens have been observed by scanning electron microscopy, and the effect of intermittent He/D ion irradiations on the W fuzz growth has been analyzed. The W fuzz growth over W targets does not show the clear dependence on the intermittent He/D ion irradiations, where the He/D ion fluence of the single irradiations typically varies from 5.0 × 1024 to 2.5 × 1025/m2. However, a slight change in the W surface temperature during the single He ion irradiations significantly affects the W fuzz growth rate. Analysis indicates that W fuzz growth is significantly affected by the total He ion fluence varying from 5.0 × 1024 to 5.0 × 1025/m2 and the irradiation temperature varying from 1100 to 1450 K. This current study will play a crucial role in understanding the W fuzz growth under the periodic He/D ion irradiations of W divertor in fusion reactors, such as ELMs.

He-induced W nanofuzz growth over the W divertor target is one of the main limiting factors affecting the current design and development of fusion reactors. In this paper, based on He reaction rate model in W, we simulate the growth and evolution of He nanobubbles during W nanofuzz formation under fusion-relevant He+ irradiation conditions. Our modeling unveils the existence of He nanobubble-enriched W surface layer (<10 nm), formed due to the He diffusion in W crystal into defect sites. At an elevated temperature, the growth of He bubbles in the W surface layer prevents He atoms diffusing into the deep layer (>10 nm). The formation of W nanofuzz at the surface is attributed to surface bursting of high-density He bubbles with their radius of ~4 nm, and an increase in the surface area of irradiated W. Our findings have been well confirmed by the experimental measurements.

In this study, polycrystalline W, W-Re alloys, and La2O3 and Y2O3 dispersion-strengthened W have been irradiated by our large-power materials irradiation experimental system (LP-MIES) at the irradiation temperature of 1360–1460 K. Our measurements show that the W nano-fuzz layer which is < 5.2 μm thick has been formed over all the specimens exposed to the low-energy (50 or 100 eV) and high-flux (1.37 × 1022–1.62 × 1022 ions/m2⋅s) He+ irradiations. The mass loss of the fuzz layer almost linearly increases with the He+ fluence, which does not show any dependence on the thickness of fuzz layer varying from 1.1 to 5.2 μm La2O3 and Y2O3 dispersions into W significantly suppress the growth of W fuzz, indicating that He diffusion and the evolution of He nano-bubbles in the near-surface can be significantly influenced due to the dispersion. After He+ (100 eV) irradiation at He+ fluence of 5.83 × 1026/m2, the mass loss of 0.1 vol% - 1.0 vol% La2O3-dispersed W is about 20% lower than the one of the pure W, and the La2O3 dispersed W exhibits the best erosion resistance among various W material grades. Our analysis indicates that both the surface sputtering of W fuzz by energetic ions and surface bursting of He nano-bubbles can be responsible for the mass loss of W under ITER-relevant He+ irradiations.

In this work, we monitor in situ the movement of ZnO piezoelectric nanowires by using a conductive atomic force microscope integrated into a scanning electron microscope. This setup allows seeing the bending of the nanowires and simultaneously measuring the currents generated. We conclude that the currents generated not only come from piezoelectric effect, but also from contact potential and triboelectric effect. These contributions have been ignored in all previous reports in this field, meaning that the power conversion efficiency of these devices may have been systematically overestimated. Our study helps to clarify the working mechanism of piezoelectric nanogenerators based on ZnO nanowires.

Automated, model-based production code generation is widely used in the development and testing of electronic control units (ECUs). During ECU commissioning, extensive tests of the implemented control algorithms are required. Knowledge of the internal values and states of the ECU software are essential for verifying the correct software functionality by means of complex control algorithms. Calibration and measurement services make it possible to observe the ECU-internal memory values associated with the variables originating from the function model. Furthermore, the final adjustment of control parameters in the production ECU can be performed by means of calibration services. For these reasons, calibration and measurement through service integration is widely applied in both the automotive industry and other industrial fields. Integrating measurement and calibration services is therefore an important task for engineers working with model-based control development and, particularly, ECU production code integration. This paper describes an example integration of the Universal Measurement and Calibration Protocol (XCP) for model-based automatic code generation. The application used for the service integration is the commercially available Motor Control Education Kit (MEDKit) from Emerge-Engineering and dSPACE GmbH. The model-based automatic code generation is performed using the production code generator dSPACE TargetLink. The integration of the XCP on CAN protocol is completed in the scope of student projects. The upgraded MEDKit demonstrator will be used for education purposes in the Deggendorf Institute of Technology.

For an effective protection of the communication in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) facing e.g. threats by quantum computers in the near future, it is necessary to examine the applicability of quantum-resistant mechanisms in this field. It is the aim of this article to survey possible candidate schemes utilizable on sensor nodes and to compare the energy consumption of a selection of freely-available software implementations using a WSN-ready Texas Instruments CC1350 LaunchPad ARM® Cortex®-M3 microcontroller board.

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) contains small sensor nodes which monitor physical or environmental conditions. WSN is an important technology for digitalization of industrial periphery and is often used in environments which are not hardened against security impacts. These networks are easy to attack due to the open communication medium and low computing resources of the applied devices. Establishing security mechanisms is difficult while taking into account low energy consumption. Low cost sensors with limited resources make the implementation of cryptographic algorithms even more challenging. For WSNs cryptographic functions are needed without high impact on energy consumption and latency. Therefore, security in WSNs is a challenging field of research. This paper compares lightweight energy-efficient key exchange protocols which are suitable for WSN. The protocols were also implemented in WSN-capable Texas Instrument boards and the energy consumption was measured during the key exchange. This paper shows that schemes have to be chosen depending on the specific network requirements and that the usage of asymmetric cryptography does not always result in a high energy consumption.

This paper discusses the impact of ICT for creating sustainable rural regions. An empirical analysis of 255 Bavarian communes in 2018 showed, that there is a lack of digital content on the communes' homepages. New ideas are needed for participation and communication in rural communes. To close this gap, PUB in PLAN, a digital participation platform was initiated. This platform is the basement for new, smart and effective participation projects using digital and analog forms of moderation for sustainable and intelligent city developments.

With more and more industrial devices getting inter-connected the attack surface for cyber attacks is increasing steadily. In this paper the possible approach of an attacker who got access to the office network at the Institute for Precision Manufacturing and High-Frequency Technology (IPH) to attack one of the optic machines that reside in another network segment is presented. Based on known vulnerabilities from the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE), like the shellshock exploit or remote code execution with PsExec, for devices identified in the network, an attacker can bypass the firewall between the office network and the laboratory network and get full access to the HMI of the target machine.